In most architectural situations, luminaires are intended not only to provide sources of light but to have a distinct appearance in themselves. In the case of outdoor luminaires, very often the luminaire itself cannot be seen in the dark when the light is turned on. In order to give a distinct appearance to outdoor luminaires when they are viewed at night, it is common to design the luminaire with an accent light. An accent light is a secondary light, usually of a unique color or shape, which provides a distinctive appearance to the luminaire apart from light emitted from the luminaire for illumination purposes.
In typical architectural projects it is not uncommon to require large quantities of luminaires. Consequently, the concerns of cost-saving in mass production are acute in the manufacture of luminaires. It would be useful not only to minimize production costs within a single architectural project, but also to create luminaires whose design can be easily varied for different projects, thus enabling a large number of designs to be created using a small number of mass-produced parts.
One popular style of accent light is in the form of a narrow strip of colored light around the perimeter of the luminaire. Most of the light from the light source in the luminaire is used for illumination of the surrounding area, but the bright accent light will give the luminaire a distinct and pleasing appearance in a generally dark situation where the luminaire itself cannot be seen, such as in a dark parking lot. However, one problem with the narrow-strip design is that translucent colored filters for providing the color to the accent light are difficult to manufacture in the shape of the perimeter of a luminaire. The narrow-strip colored filters may also be difficult to install in the luminaires, particularly in the field. If it is decided to change the color of the accent light, changing the narrow-strip colored filters is a difficult and expensive task.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a luminaire having a narrow-strip colored accent light, which can be any of a variety of colors, which can be inexpensively manufactured and installed, and where the color of the accent light can be changed easily.
It is another object of the invention to provide a luminaire having an accent light wherein the accent light is illuminated by the same light source that produces the illumination from the luminaire.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.